Mechanism for handling freight containers



Nov. 23, 1937. rrg

MECHANISM FOR HANDLING FREIGHT CONTAINERS Filed Jan. 22, 1936 5Sheets-Sheet l Fig.1

FirqtZ' r\- P /ea/a/ ATTORNEYS Nov. 23, 1937. B. F. FITCH MECHANISM FQRHANDLING FREIGHT CONTAINERS Filed Jan. 22, 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR. BY Wm, flflli ATTORNEYS NW. 23, 1937. a. F. Fl TCH MECHANISMFOR HANDLING FREIGHT CONTAINERS Filed Jan. 22; 1936 5 Sheets-Sheet 3-INVENTOR:

MW Wm M ATTORNEYS,

Nov. 23, 1937. rrc

MECHANISM FOR HANDLING FREIGHT CONTAINERS 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Jan.22, 1936 wuuuun/lh,

INVENTOR.

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ATTORNEYS Nov. 23, 1937. B. F. FITCH MECHANISM FORHANDLINGFREIGHT-CONTAINERS Filed Jan. 22, 1936* 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 fig. w 4

INVENTOR. Mg; ig fife/E,

ATTORNEYS.

75 M, WM- Mam Patented Nov. 23?, 1937 ETED STATES PATENT OFFICEMECHANISM FOR HANDLING FREIGHT CONTAINERS 17 Claims.

39,725, filed September 9th, 1935; 39,726, filed September 9th, 1935,and 45,616, filed October 5 18th, 1935, disclose a transportation systemcomprising a tractor and trailer, the latter carrying bridges at itsrear end by which it may be coupled to a railway car, a body forcontaining goods adapted to be vmounted'on the trailer, or car, andlongitudinally extending endless chains on the trailer and bridgesoperated by-power supplied by the tractor and connected to the body forpropelling the body to transfer it from the trailer to the railway caror vice versa. Reference should be made to such applications for claimson various features of such system. As 'shown in each of theapplications referred to, the body when on the trailer rests on suitablesupports forming a fixed part of the trailer. Now 20 I have found thatfor certain uses it is desirable to be able to tip the body on thetrailer, one of such uses being to dump the material from the bodythrough an open tail-gate, and another use beingto slightly tip a tankfor liquid so that 25 sagging of the forward end of the trailer will nottrap liquid in the front portion of the tank, and thereby preventcomplete discharge at the rear end. The present invention relates toprovisions on the trailer for enabling the tipping of the body 30mounted thereon, such tipping being effected by power mechanism on thetrailer.

Referring more particularly to the use of a transferable tank body, asshown in my application No. 39,726, above mentioned, such body is 35very useful for the transportation of milk, and in such use it isfrequently desirable to uncouple the tractor from the trailer enablingthe use of the tractor for other purposes while the trailer, which isthen supported at its forward end by struts, remains to support the tankof liquid. With such strut support there is a tendency of the trailer tosag at the forward end, tipping down the tank, so that the dischargeconduits at the opposite end cannot entirely free the tank of liquid.

Thus, when my trailer is designed particularly to obviate thisdifiiculty, I provide tipping means readily attached to and operable bythe propelling chains of the trailer to raise slightly the forward endof the tank before the tractor is uncoupled, such raising compensatingfor the subsequent sag when the tractor is removed. I find a very simplemechanism for utilizing the movement of the.

trailer chains to tip the tankcomprises wedges attached to the chainsand operated by the motor thereof to travel in between the trailerchassis and means supporting the tank.

T effect the operation described without throwing-undue strain on thetank cradle, I provide longitudinal beams on the trailer which arehinged thereto adjacent the rear end of the trailer and normally liehorizontal on the trailer. The wedges described are adapted to slide inbetween such supporting beams and the chassis frame to thus tip the beamwhile thetank cradle is locked to it.

Where it is desired to dump the contents of a body, I utilize similarsupporting beams hinged at the rear end to the trailer and havingprovision for the locking of the body to them, but I furnish means forraising the forward ends of such beams much higher than they can beraised by the inserted wedges. This means may, for instance, comprise anupstanding hydraulic hoist carried at the forward end of the trailerhaving cables attached to the two beams of the trailer and operated by across-head carried by the piston rod of the hydraulic cylinder, therebeing suitable power mechanism on the trailer for operating suc hoist.

My invention, both in the form adapted for tipping a tank to level itand for tipping another form of body to discharge the contents, isillus-- trated in the drawings hereof and hereinafter more fullydescribed, the essential novel features being summarized in the claims.

In the drawings, Fig. l is a plan of my trailer having longitudinalsupporting beams hinged to the rear end of the trailer and normallylying horizontally on the chassis frame, such frame 5 carryingpropelling chains adjacent the beams,

, movable wedges being indicated for tipping the beams. Fig. 2 is a sideelevation of the trailer with a tank and cradle therefor mounted on thebeams of the trailer, these beams with the cradle 40 and tank beingshown in slightly tipped position by the insertion of movable wedges.Fig. 3 is a perspective of the wedges adapted to be anchored to thepropelling chains for tipping the tank body. Fig. 4 is a verticalsection through portions of thetrailer and tank cradle and one of theinterposed wedges, as indicated by the line H on Fig. 2; Fig. 5 is anelevation of a transportation system employing thetank and cradle, shownas mounted on a flat car, the trailer being coupled to such car inposition for the propulsion of the tank from a car to the trailer. Fig.6 is a. plan of the trailer of Fig. 1, equipped with mechanism' fortipping the forward ends of the. normally horizontal beams sufficientlyhigh to dump the load. Fig. 7 is a side elevation of the-trailer shownin Fig. 6, with the forward end of the body raised for dumping thecontents, the hoist being 'intermediately broken away. Fig. 8 is asectional front elevation of the trailer of Fig. 6. Fig. 9 is ahorizontal section through the lower portion of the body shown in Figs.'7 and 8 or the tank cradle of Figs. 2 and 5, to show theattachment ofthe push and pull bar to the body or cradle and the operating mechanismfor the lock. Fig. 10 is'a vertical section through the lock of the tankcradle or body, as indicated by the line Ill-40 on Fig. 9. Fig. 11 is adetail of the attachment of push and pull bar to the body or cradle,being a vertical section indicated by the line Il-H on Fig. 9. Fig. 12is an elevation of one of the push and pull bars and the meansconnecting it to one of the propelling chains on the trailer. Fig. 13 isa vertical section through the rear end of the trailer and one ofthe'bridges hinged thereto, showing also the pivotal connection of thelongitudinal tippable beam of the trailer. Fig. 14 is a detail of aguide for the longitudinal beam, being a vertical section indicated bythe line l4-l4 on Fig. 2. Fig. 15 is a fragmentary detail of one of thelongitudinal tippable beams of the tractor, being a horizontal sectionindicated by the line l5--|5 on Fig. 4.

Referring first briefly to the general transportation system asindicated in Fig. 5, A indicates a railway car and B a body adapted tobe carried thereby. As shown in this view, the body is a tank and restson and is rigidly attached to a cradle designated C, which in turn restson the railway car. D indicates a tractor and E a trailer supportedthereby at the forward end, and connected at the rear end with the carby suitable bridges F hinged to the rear end of the trailer and adaptedto be temporarily attached to the car. G indicates push and pull barswhich are attached at one end to the body or the cradle for the tank andat the other endv to longitudinal propelling chains on the trailer.These chains do not appear in Fig. 5, but are shown at H in Fig. 1. Theyare connected by suitable reduction gearing shafts etc. indicated at Jto a motor K. This motor is adapted to be energized from a generatormounted on the tractor and driven by the engine of the tractor.

Such transportation system as just described is shown in my priorapplications referred to. but in those applications the trailer supporton which the body slidably rests is ed to the trailer. In the presentinvention this support comprises beams hinged at their rear end to thetrailer frame and adapted to be elevated at the forward end. Such beamsare shown at M in Figs. 1, 2, 6 and 7. They are hinged at their rearends to the chassis frame, as indicated by the pivot pin m in Fig. 13,and are guided near their forward ends by a bar ml upstanding from thechassis frame, as indicated in Figs. 2, 7 and 14. 4

Before describing the two mechanisms shown for raising the forward endof the trailer beams M, I will describe the means indicated for lockingthe body to such beams, as it is important to have thebody so lockedbefore the tipping begins. I will also describe the means of attachingthe push and pull bar to the body and the chain, these mechanisms beingidentical in the two types of bodies and tipping mechanisms shown.

The locking mechanism is illustrated herein in Figs. 9, 10 and 4, andwill be only, briefly described, reference being-made to my copendingapplication No. 32,130, for a fuller description of the same and forclaims thereon.

The tank cradle C or the body indicated at CI in Figs. 6 and 8, has onits underside a pair of hollow parallel shoes P, which are adapted toform skid rails slidable along the channels M of the trailer. Pivotallymounted within each shoe is a pair of locking hooks Q, facing each otherand adapted to extend downwardly beyond the shoe and pass throughopenings m2 in the beam M of the trailer to thus lock the body firmly tosuch beams.

To operate the hooks, I provide in the base frame of the body or in thetank cradle C a rotatable right-and-left screw shaft R, which car ries apair of slidable but non-rotatable nuts S, each nut engaging a notch inthe upper portion of one of the hooks Q. This enables a crank applied tothe shaft R to swing the two hooks toward or from each other to causethem to lock the body to the beams or free it therefrom.

As the shoes P have preferably considerable side clearance in thechannels M, I provide guides m3 on the inner face of one of the verticalflanges of the'channel adjacent the locking openings m2, which will soguide the body or cradle that the locking hook Q will laterally registerwith the opening m2 when the action of the propelling chains has broughtthese hooks into longitudinal registration.

At one side of the locking shaft R, I provide in the .base frame of thebody or cradle a hollow spherical socket T (Figs. 9 and 11) which has arectangular entrance opening t, the openingbeing. shown as having itslarge dimension in the vertical direction. The push and pull bar Gheretofore referred to, has a flattened spherical head 9 adapted to bepassed through the opening it into the socket T. Thereafter, by aquarter turn, the head G assumes a position within the spherical sockettransversely of the elongated mouth, and thus is locked to the body. Atits other end the bar G is connected by links as shown in Fig. 12 to apair of mutually pivotally connected jaws U, which are adapted to engageeffectively the cross members h of the chain H, as described more indetail in my application Serial No. 45,616.

I will now take up the description of the mechanism for slightly tippingthe tank to effect a levelling of the same when the tank sags, thismechanism being shown in Figs. 2, 3 and 4. Included in this mechanismare apair of wedges I0, which are preferably hollow castings connectedtogether by a cross bar I I. Each wedge has on its inner face a block12, suitably bolted or otherwise secured to it, which has downwardlyprojecting teeth I3, adapted to engage between the cross members of thechain H, these cross members being preferably rollers h on cross pinsconnecting the chain links, as shown more particularly in Fig. 12.

The chain H rides in a suitable upwardly facing channel member V, whichis rigidly mounted on the longitudinal chassis sill W of the trailer.

This channel, as shown in Fig. 4, is located adjacent the inner edge ofthe top flange of the chassis sill and the face of such flange beyondthe channel V normally engages and supports the hinged channel beam Mwhich rests on the chassis alongside of the chain channel V. Now thewedge H! has a flat lower face adapted to rest on the chassis sillflange in place of the beam M, and has a top surface of substantiallythe same access;

width,-adapted to engage the under surface of Mv h wni Each of 'thewedges ill-is recessed at its ridge asindicated at 45, to provideclearance for the downwardly extending hooks Q. The cross bar H is of'suchlength that, it holds the wedges spaced correspondingto the.spacing of the beams I M and with the jaw blocks l2 spaced according tothe two chains H.

, It follows from the construction described that when it is desired totip the tank cradle it is only necessary to mount the wedges on thechassis frame W beyond the front ends of the beams M as indicated by thedotted lines Illa in Fig. 2. Then with the cradle'locked to the beams M,as shown in Fig. 2, and unattached to the chain,

' an operation of'the motor-K in the proper direction will carry thewedges toward the rear beneath the slightly inclined ends of the beams Mand thus gradually tip up that end ofthe beams, cradle and tank- Fig.2indicates at lllb a suitable final position for the wedge where the tankhas been tippedsirmciently to compensate for sagging of the forward endof the trailer when detached from the tractor. 1

' It will be seen that the provision oftwo connected wedges with theirjaws provides a simple attachment for effecting the result desired. Thisattachment may be normally carried by the trailer in front of thesupporting beams and out of position for engagement with the chain, butwhenever desired may be readily lifted manually into attaching positionand operated to elfect the tipping of the tank by the mere operation ofthe chain motor K before the tractor is detached.

The other mechanism I have provided for tip- I ping the body supportingbeams of the ,trailer at their forward ends, utilizable primarily whenit is desired to dump the contents of the body, is illustrated in Figs.6, 7 and 8. As there shown, I provide onthe trailer, between the forwardportions of the beams M, an upright cylinder 20. In this cylinder is apistonhaving a vertical piston rod 2| onthe upper end of which ismounted a cross-head 22. On this cross-head are-a pair of dependingbrackets having sheaves 23. These sheaves are the same distance fromcenter to center as the'two beams M; A pair of cables 25, attached tothe ends 'of the beams, pass over the sheaves'and have their free endsanchored asat 26 to the chassisframe beyond the end of the beams. 7 I vy It follows fromthe described construction that when fluid. underpressure is admitted to the bottom of the cylinder '20 beneath thepiston therein,.the.cross-headZZ is shoved upwardly,

thus pulling up on the forward ends of the beams M and tipping the bodyas-illustrated in Fig. 7. Obviously, an increased length of cylinder andpiston rodmightbeemployed to enable tipping of. the body toagreaterangle than that: shown.

It will .bgn tli that the forward body hooks Q facefrearwardly, so thatthe body, locked to the beams'M,cannots1ip down thosebeams, no matterhow "stee'pf'the incline ate .allows the contents "of th pastur heicylinderl 20, I

" suitable-electri om ainoto with edu'ctiorigejar p, 33 'conc'luitl'eadin Whenthe body h s n tbanism operated.

As indicated n Fig... --indica'te"s" a tank adapted to contain' oil orother fli'dilidf 3F -'a--rpuinb connected'- therewith, 32 "gfOr-operating'th from the pumpto the lower portion of the cylinder 20.By this construction the operation ofithe motor-32. by

thus dumpv the bodyand hold it in any raised position. 1

The reduction gearing between the motor and hydraulic p mp may readilybe self-locking to hold the load in any given'position, and a suitablecircuit breaker. may be furnished to shut-olfthe motor when the load hasreached its maximum height. v

To lower the body, I provide aby-pass 35 from the conduit 33 to the tank30 around the pump St, the by-pass being under control of a valve 36which may be operated by a handle 31 at the side. of the chassis. Thisvalve is closed during the raising of the body, but whenever it isdesired to lower it, the valve is opened by its handle 31, and theliquid in theconduit 33 may thus pass freelybackinto thetank'30,allowing the 'pistonand. cross-head and the raised body to descend bygravity. v

It will be seen that the hoist construction de% scribed is comparativelysimple and requires no extra room on the trailer. The cylinder standsbetween the forward portions-of the beams M directly'in front of thehorizontal body, and the hydraulic system leading to the cylinder may becarried in'idle space between the chassis side sills. The'mere operationof the electric switch will result in the motor operating the hydraulicsystem to tip the body, as desired, after which the operation of theby-pass handle may cause its return to normal position.

The inner flange of the channel beam edge is limited in position by thefixed chain carrying channels V. To insure the beams M being in properposition as lowered'I provide the'stripsm, heretofore mentioned, whichrise from the chassis sills on opposite sides of .the truck adjacent theforward ends of the pivoted beams. Accordingly, as these channel beamsare being lowered, if they are displaced laterally in either.direction,.one or the other of the beams will return exactly intonormal position resting on the chassis sills.

It has heretofore been proposed to provide truck chassis with tiltingplatforms on which demountable bodies may be mounted and thus dumped.However, as far as I am aware, such tilting platforms have never beencombined with endless chain propelling mechanism mounted on the chassisto move the body onto and offofthe platform. Instead of ,a platform, Iuse the two individual supporting beams which only becomecross-connected by the body itself restingthere on. By thusavoiding anycross connections directl'yfrom'one beam to the other, such as is em:ployed in the case of a' platform, I anienabld to mount thepropelling-chains between thdsupporting beams" and have them accessiblethroughout the entire leng'th of thegsupportlng beams. a: j. 1

.If. the :beams were cross-connectedbelow the chains, .the'tipping ofthe body'would be--prevent-' cross connected above the chains thefuIF'Strok of the .push and pull'barattached-to th'chains ducesdifficulties in the way of driving the chains.

It willbe seen that by providing the fixed chaimcarrying channels asguides for the inner edges of the raisable' channel beams and theupright positioning or camming bars limiting the outward movementthereof, I maintain the channel beams in proper position when no body isresting thereon. When a body is on the channel. beams and locked tothem, they become thereby effectively braced laterally.

It will also be seen that ,my improved trailer, with its channel-shapedsupporting beams M hinged at the rear end of the trailer and normallylying horizontally on the chassis frame, provides for all the service ofmy former trailers, having fixed channel beams for supporting the body,while this improved construction has the additional advantage ofenabling tipping of the body as desired.

I claim:

1. The combination of a highway trailer, having a pair of parallelpropelling chains mounted on its chassis, motor mechanism and gearingfor operating said chains, a pair of individual load supporting memberscarried by the trailer chassis on the outer sides. of the chainsrespectively, and power actuated means for tilting said members to tilta body resting thereon.

2. The combination of a vehicle provided with a pair of longitudinalpropelling chains, a pair of longitudinal supporting beams carried bythe vehicle on the outersides of the chains respectively and hinged tothe vehicle adjacent the rear end of the vehicle and free for verticalmovement about their hinge axes, and means for simultaneously liftingthe forward ends of both beams.

3. The combination of a vehicle provided with a pair of propellingchains, a pair of supporting beams carried by the vehicle on the outersides of the chains respectively and hinged to the vehicle adjacent oneend of the beams and free for vertical movement about their hinge axes,a demountable body adapted to rest on said beams, means for. locking thebody to the beams, and

means for simultaneously lifting the free ends of both beams.

4'. The. combination of a truck chassis, a pair of parallel propellingchains mounted thereon, motor mechanism for operating said chains, apair of supporting beams hinged to the chassis adjacent one end of thebeams, a demountable body, means for attaching it to the chains,

.whereby the body may be moved onto or ofi of the beams, and meansforsimultaneously raising the free ends of both beams.

5. The combination of a vehicle, a pair of propelling chains mountedthereon, motor mechanism, for operating said chains, a demountable body,means for attaching it to the chains, whereby the body may be movedontoor off of the vehicle, and means including a pair of wedges adaptedto be attached to the chains and moved thereby to tilt the body.

6. The combination of. a truckchassis, a pair of longitudinal propellingchains mounted thereon, motor mechanism for operating said chains, apair of upwardly facing channel beams extending longitudinally of thechassis hinged to it adjacent the rear ends of the beams, a demountablebody, means for attaching it to the chains,

whereby the body may be moved onto or oflof the beams, and means adaptedto be attached to the chains and moved thereby to raise the beams andthus tilt whatever body stands thereon, said bodybeing provided withdownwardly extending locking hooks adaptedto extend through openings inthe webs of the channel beamsto lock the body thereto.

'7. The combination of a highway truck, a demountable body adapted to becarried thereby, a

wedge adapted to be vmoved between the truck and body to tip the bodywith reference to the truck, and power mechanism for bodily moving thewedge.

8. The combinationof a vehicle, body supporting members thereon hingedtothe vehicle, wedges adapted to be moved under said members, and powermechanism for bodily moving the wedges.

9. The combination of a vehicle, a pair of beams hinged to the vehicle,said beams being adapted to support a demountable body, propellingchains carried by the vehicle extending parallel with said beams, andwedges adapted to be attached to the chains to pass between the beamsand the vehicle.

10. The combination of a highway truck, a pair of upwardly facingchannel beams hinged at their rear ends adjacent the rear end of thetruck extending longitudinally along the truck, said beams being adaptedto receive shoes on the base of a demountable body, propelling chainscarried by the truck extending parallel with said beams, and wedgesadapted to be attached to the chains to pass between the beams and thechassis.

11. The combination of a vehicle, a pair of upwardly facing channelsfixed thereto, propelling chains in the respective channels, mechanismon the vehicle for moving the chains within the channels, a pair of bodysupporting beams hinged adjacent their ends to the vehicle and adaptedto rest thereon alongside of the fixed channels, means for raising thefree ends of said beams, said beams being immediately on the outer sidesof the fixed channels and limited thereby against inward movement.

12. -The combination of a highway truck, a pair of upwardly facingchannels fixed thereto, propelling chains in the respective channels,mechanism on the truck for moving the chains, a pair of body supportingbeams hinged adjacent their ends' to the vehicle and adapted to restthereon alongside of the fixed channels, means for raising the free endsof said beams, and means for guiding said beams into position adjacentthe fixed channels when lowered.

13. The combination of a vehicle, a pair of upwardly facing channelbeams arranged parallel with each other longitudinally of the vehicleand hinged to the vehicle adjacent the rear end of the beams, ademountable body having shoes adapted to occupy the channels of'thebeams, means for locking the body to the beams, camming guides withinthe channel of said beams to position the body laterally, and means forraising therfree ends of the beams to tip the body.

14. The combination of a vehicle, a demountable body adapted to becarried thereby, propel- -ling chains on the vehicle, means forattaching them to the body to move the body onto or off the vehicle, apair of wedges adapted to pass between the vehicle frame and the body totip the body, means for attaching said wedges to the chains, and across-bar connecting said wedges and spacing them corresponding to thespacing of the beams.

15. The combination of a vehicle having a frame, a pair of beams hingedto the frame adjacent one end of the beams, a demountable body havingsupporting members adapted to rest on the beams, downwardly projectinglocking hooks carried by the body and adapted to extend through openingsin the beams, wedges adapted to rest on the vehicle frame and passbetweenit and the beams to tip the .body which is locked to the beams,said wedges being recessed at their upper edges to enable them to passthe hooks on the body, and mechanism for moving the wedges.

16. The combination of a vehicle having a frame, a pair of longitudinalbeams hinged to the frame adjacent the rear ends of the beams,propelling chains on the vehicle extending parallel with the beams, ademountable body having supporting members adapted to rest on the beams,means for attaching the body to the chains to move it to and from thevehicle, downwardly protaching' the wedges to the chains whereby they I.

may be forced between the vehicle frame and beams.

1'7. The combination of a trailer having a pair of individually movablebeams hingedly attached at their rear ends to said trailer and formed toreceive skid rails of a body, means for locking such body to the beamscharacterized by the fact that any warpage of the body is compensatedfor by the individual movement of the beams, and means for elevating theforward ends of said beams.

BENJAMIN F. FITCH.

